When I picked up Sophia later Friday afternoon she was full of stories. We sat for over an hour listening to her tales of meeting Scouts from Japan and Portugal.  We also heard about the usual troop drama but mostly it was all good.  I asked her last night at dinner if she thought she would be a different person (maybe more responsible? higher aspirations?) after this event.  The buzz has still not worn off but since she starts field hockey and soccer Monday she will quickly turn the page. 

When it comes to trading at a big national event I stuck to my tried and true strategy.  I'm a 1:1 trader and the most generous one you have ever met.  I try and bring lots of stuff so that I typically don't refuse trades but if it's something I don't want to keep it just goes back on the blanket.  That happened numerous times at the WSJ where for example a Thailand n/c slide went on the blanket and quickly a leader from Brazil traded for it.  I may not bring home the super rare stuff using this method but I shake a lot of hands and have fun meeting people. 

I talked to Bob Hanna about the effect of having thousands of Scouts returning home with the "patch bug" only to see if quickly fade.  I will probably see this with my own Jamboree Scout.  The excitement of meeting new people is hard to replicate.  But what Bob was referring to was also just passing on the knowledge of collecting that so many veterans of the hobby have.  I don't have the answer to that but I'll do my part to help raise up the next generation in this hobby. 

One thing I did upon returning home was mapping the eBay accounts that I have and determining where I need to focus. I have also asked my graphic artist friend to create some updated eBay store branding. The goal by the end of the year is to have 2 stores with 10k items each on eBay.  That's ambitious but I have a plan. 

• South Florida Council SA-62 2012 Eagle Sponsor
• Lake Huron Area Council SA-21; 2009 Eagle Scout
• OA Lodge #353 Immokalee Chehaw Council S5 Flap
• Far East Council 2012 FOS; James E West Bronze Mylar
• Inland Northwest Council SA-82; 2009 North Idaho High
• OA Lodge #445 Pohawk Covered Wagon Council F1a Flap